ENMU faculty retiring

Eastern New Mexico University will be saying goodbye to some long-term faculty members this month as they retire from higher education and move on to fishing, traveling and quality family time.

Here's what retirees had to say about their ENMU experience and where they plan to go next:

Name: V. Scott Johnson, "Doctor J"

Position held: Professor of psychology since 1981

What is one of your most memorable experiences at ENMU?

There was an incident that occurred quite late in a semester when a usually silent, senior student raised her hand and innocently ask "Did you know that you taught my grandmother?" With that simple question came the realization that I had, in fact, had the privilege of mentoring three generations of human services providers.

What was one of the toughest things about your job and what was one of the most rewarding?

Each spring our students present their original research and as a judge, one has to rate the competitors on multiple scales. Making minuscule differentiations between shades of excellence has always been enjoyable and difficult.

The rewarding part was seeing generations of former students have returned as guest speakers and presenters in the summer crisis Intervention class.

What was one of your most unique/bizzare experiences on the job?

I was teaching a psychology 101 class when, during a midterm examination, I discovered a student with a cheat sheet. I simply said nothing and instead ate the student's answer sheet. I have often wondered what the response would have been had the student complained to my dean, saying "My teacher ate my examination."

What will you do after retirement?

I will scuba, fish or swim anytime I get the chance and enjoy a summer home and the people in the Santa Fe National Forest while spending time with my grandchildren.

What will you miss most about your job and what are you most excited about with retirement?

I will miss students, the faculty lunch bunch, fun in the classroom and getting to act out all the different disorders in my abnormal psychology classes. The most exciting thing about retirement is the adventure of discovering what it is that lies over the next hill.

Name: Elwyn Hulett

Position held: Director of Center for Teaching Excellence and associate professor of education for 17 years.

What is one of your most memorable experiences at ENMU?

Being director of the Center for Teaching Excellence for 15 years, because my work supported classroom teachers' research and professional development.

What was one of the toughest things about your job and what was one of the most rewarding?

The toughest: Trying to advise more than 200 students.

The most rewarding: Watching advisees walk across the stage at graduation.

What was one of your most unique experiences on the job?

I developed the syllabi and wrote the proposal for approval of seven committees and departments, because I wanted ENMU to be the first New Mexico university graduate school to have national board certification as permanent graduate credit that could be used as part of a masters degree program.

What will you do after retirement?

Travel to Grand Canyon, Ariz., with my sisters and their families; an Alaska cruise and inland; a Vermont trip, including genealogy work; home improvement projects, such as remodeling family room and kitchen and adding a deck or sun room and landscaping the yard. Also, spending time with family and continuing my involvement in church and Kiwanis.

What will you miss most about your job and what are you most excited about with retirement?

I'll miss my students for teaching and advising. I'm excited about accomplishing things on my wife's and my bucket list, which includes the trip to Alaska, researching family genealogy, visiting all 50 states, and not missing special school activities where the grandchildren are involved.

Name: Francine Stuckey

Positions held: Faculty member for 37 years and the Child Development Center director for 33 of those years.

What is one of your most memorable experiences at ENMU?

As the director of the Child Development Center, one of the most memorable semesters that I experienced was when I worked daily with a teacher who was seriously ill with cancer and having the opportunity to be with someone who had such a great attitude about each day while being in a very difficult situation.

What was one of the toughest things about your job and what was one of the most rewarding?

One of my most difficult situations was my first parent meeting as director of the Child Development Center. I was younger than most of the parents. I was supporting some curriculum changes that the head teacher wanted to implement. The parents were concerned about the changes.

The most rewarding part of my job has been the people with whom I've worked and all of the interesting things that we've shared. It's nice to see former students enjoying their careers.

What was one of your most unique experiences on the job?

One of the most unique things that I've experienced is due to the fact that I've worked at Eastern for a long time. I can remember the first time that I had a former CDC child return as a student worker and another former CDC child who returned as a college lab student.

What will you do after retirement?

I plan to remain involved professionally as the 2012-13 president of the New Mexico Family and Consumer Sciences Association. In my personal life, I hope to have more time for volunteer work with families and children. My husband and I have made some interesting travel plans too.

What will you miss most about your job and what are you most excited about with retirement?

I'll miss the interactions with people at work. I love interesting questions from students in courses.

I'm looking forward to a more flexible schedule. I think that the flexibility and free time will be a nice change.